The Fire that Saved Tadashi (HIATUS)
by La.Saffron
Summary: Dead Tadashi? Dead wrong! Our Magma Queen, aka Ultra Violet, underwings the name Naphtha as she saves one of the most brilliant boys in all of San Fransokyo from an evil fire by Robert Callaghan. For at least a year, Naphtha will heal Tadashi and during this time, teach him all the secrets of life from the past four billion years. But will Tadashi ever be released?
1. Prologue: The Fire

**A/N- Hey there, my lovely readers! Sorry for not being on for like a millennia! I had school, finals (coming next week), and summer plans. I promise to be more active when I can. But hey, good news. I was in Geography class (most dumbest class ever in my opinion) and I got an idea for two new stories, one being an X Reader and this story! Hope you enjoy it! OBTW, Violet is from The Lost Guardian, another one of my stories.**

 **Reviews are launch pads! Silent readers! Don't be silent! Go loco in the review section!**

 **Prologue**

She felt it when it happened.

The Magma Queen, also known as Ultra Violet, was tending to the lavafall, making sure it had the proper heat to keep the Chamber running smoothly when she felt a disturbance.

When the immortal spirit felt a disturbance, it meant all different kinds of things. A certain twinge in her body, a sharp pain, a small migraine, anything affecting her, usually meant a fire had erupted somewhere.

This was no ordinary fire. Someone had created this fire for personal and evil, vengeful purposes. People could die.

And Violet, having done this a few times in her four billion years of living, decided to go and calm the fire down a bit so it shouldn't be as catastrophic as it could be.

She set out in a ray of fire, moving at the speed of light to the location of the fire. When she got there, Violet as standing in front of a building that looked like an exhibit took place.

The fire had just started and people started to run out, screaming and coughing. Though the survivors were running as fast as they could, the immortal queen saw everything in slow motion while she moved around normally.

Violet slipped inside the building through the staircase with ease and looked around the fire in slow motion. Inventors must have been there because many different objects and stages were burning quickly. Signs and flags of the presumably nearby university had crumpled into ashes before joining the excited fire. The entire hall was a raging inferno

Feeling a twinge of pity, Violet stretched out her arms and ordered the raging flames to settle down a few hundred degrees. The dancing flames obeyed their mistress and shrunk a little lower than nature.

Doing this, Violet walked around and mentally with physical motions ordered the fire to cool itself a bit.

Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed a man running to one of the burning stages in the corner of the giant hall. Her bright fire-like eyes followed him as he staggered a bit around the flames and made his way towards the corner of the circular stage.

 _An old man_ , Violet presumed. _A foolish old man whose life is wasted and desolate. Robert Callaghan._

Of course, the immortal queen knew everyone and everything since her assistant is the Sun, who sees everything and thus reports this to her mistress, Violet.

Violet turned her attention away from the slow motion scene and continued to settle the flames down a bit more. When she decided she had done her share, she heard a voice and snapped out of her slow motion realm.

"Professor!"

Violet picked her head up towards the voice, a bit startled and confused. The fire was very loud, blocking out the voice, but she ordered the flames to quiet themselves.

"Prof-" the voice started again, but was interrupted by a hacking cough. The smoke was slowly entering the person's lungs.

Violet saw a young man, about nineteen years old, in a green blazer and brown pants, jogging towards her direction, covering his mouth and nose with his elbow to keep the smoke from filling up his lungs. He looked a little burnt on his right arm and his torso covered in ash.

Professor.

The world went slow motion once again as Violet glanced behind her, to see Professor Robert Callaghan reaching for what looked like a headpiece on the stage.

Her attention turned back to the young man, who had stopped jogging and was busy coughing.

 _CRACK._

Violet looked upward at the sound. One of the large beams that held up the building had cracked and was starting to disassemble.

On top of the boy.

The Magma Queen gasped and cried out, "No!" as she zipped to where the boy was coughing. He glanced up momentarily, before realizing he had other things to worry about than coughing his lungs out.

The beam lost its hold and crashed down upon the boy, but it never reached him. Violet was standing in front of him and had roped a whip of fire around the broken beam that held it up and threw it to the side, leaving the couple unharmed.

Having his lungs filled with anything but oxygen, the young man fainted in Violet's arms. As she held the unconscious boy tightly, her angry eyes followed to where the professor was.

He put on the headpiece by now and had small microbots protect him in a fireproof shell, completely disregarding the fact that he deliberately left another person to potentially die.

The immortal spirit's eyes literally blazed with fury as she sped out of the building, with the flames still dancing in slow motion, but growing continuously by the minute.

She arrived at the side of the building and glanced behind her, eyebrows furrowed in anger and disappointment.

The survivors had gathered at distance, but one teenage boy stood at the bottom of the staircase to the building, holding a baseball cap in his hand. He started to make his way forward to the entrance.

The anger in Violet boiled hotter than the Sun as she thought about this unconscious boy in her arms who tried to save that damned professor inside the building, and now this other young boy seemed go with the same intent.

 _The nerve of humans…_ the spirit fumed quietly. _That man must die to put other selfless stupid humans out of danger._

Unable to control herself, her eyes filled with flames as she thrust out a hand towards the burning building, releasing a ball of energy.

 _BOOM!_

The building exploded, shattering all glass and releasing a wave of force and energy rippling through the area, blowing back anyone close enough to be blown back.

In this case, the boy who stood stupidly close to the enflamed building, holding his baseball hat because reasons.

Hmm. What a thought.

How wrong could an immortal queen, who knew it all, be when she heard a voice a few moments later, crying out, "Tadashi! Tadashi!"

Violet turned around to see the boy being approached by the crowd and seven other members, presumably his family and close friends.

The boy wailed, "Stop! He's in there!", but a woman with short frizzy hair held him close quietly, as tears flowed down her round face. The boy, who had shaggy black hair, sobbed into her torso, shaking his head as if he couldn't believe this was happening to him.

Violet lowered her head in thought.

 _He's in there…_

 _Professor…_

 _Tadashi…_

Her head shot in conclusion. Of course! Tadashi was the boy she carried in her arms and his brother, the boy who wailed with his baseball cap, was his brother, Hiro. The woman who was holding him was his guardian and aunt, Cass Carson.

They were the infamous Hamada brothers whom she had heard about by Dai-Tai, her Japanese Muse, who talked about them constantly.

Violet gazed thoughtfully at Tadashi's pale face, illuminated by the fire in the background. She came to a decision at last, turned around to give the building one last glare and slipped into the shadows with a dangerous curse towards it.

 _Robert Callaghan must die through fire._


	2. Chapter One: Meeting Naphtha

He opened his eyes. Or at least he tried to. His eyelids felt heavier than lead. He closed his eyes momentarily, trying not to fall asleep, subconsciously knowing he had done that for longer than usual.

He took in a deep breath, but nearly regretted it. His ribcage felt like it had been shattered and wrongly misplaced. Breathing lightly didn't seem to be an option either. He needed air and was losing it quickly.

He tried to move his legs, but was numb waist down. Mentally cursing in his head, he opened his eyes once more and struggled to keep them open.

After succeeding to win the battle with his half lidded eyes, he looked around him. Giant red and orange silk curtains flooded around him like a messy, but comfy canopy. The room was heated, yet provided a certain breeze that often cooled the area.

He then looked down and saw his body hidden under a thin, but comfortable blanket. No, that wasn't the right word. It was more like lava that was materialized into some sort of cloth.

God, it was beautiful.

Suddenly, he felt his right arm moving on its own. He creaked his head to the right to see a young attractive woman tending to his arm, bandaging his forearm.

Her hair was fiery red and constantly moving, like a living flame, and pulled back into a high bun. One thing that stood out was one big black curl that hung loosely around the bun.

She was wearing a black sleeveless top and ripped shorts. Her necklace was gems that were molded into each other to create a new gem that he had never seen before.

The girl looked concentrated, almost disappointed that she was bandaging his arm.

"Who?" he croaked. His voice sounded like it was going through puberty from a frog's perspective.

Instantly, a thin finger was on his lips as if to silence him. Never in his life had he seen someone move so fast, especially after intense concentration. They should've at least been delayed a moment or two.

"Sh, sh, sh," the girl shushed him. "Don't exert yourself too much. Look more, speak less."

As her finger removed itself from his lips, a new surge of energy filled him. Not enough to get up, but enough to talk and breath a little more normal.

"Who are you? Where am I? What happened?" he said, using his new energy quickly, but it left him exhausted.

The girl smiled lightly, as if she has been through this quick interrogation before. "Call me Naphtha, you're in the Chamber of Rocks, and…you almost died."

"Oh." That was a nice way of putting it.

She continued to bandage his numb right arm, moving slowly to his palm. He couldn't think clearly. A total migraine had taken him over, but whenever she spoke, he felt nice and was relaxed.

They sat in a few more moments of silence before Naphtha sealed off his bandaged hand, leaving the fingers exposed.

"So, do you remember what happened?" she asked him, leaning on her right arm over his right leg.

He would protest, but he couldn't really feel anything and also, she had this majestic appearance about her, even though she was dressed commonly. He felt it would be disrespectful.

"I, uh, don't really know." He mumbled.

Naphtha looked away in thought before looking back at him again. "Fine. Let's start with your name. Who are you and where are you from?"

"Why do you need to know?" he replied, immediately regretting his response.

She smiled amusingly. "I already know. It's _you_ who needs to know and remember."

He frowned. "It's not like I have amnesia…do I?"

Naphtha shook her head. "No, but you have an immense migraine right now, which makes it difficult to think. But I need you to try on your own."

"Um, sure. Anything." _I can't believe I just said that out loud._ He thought.

"So, go." She urged.

He thought intensely, even though it shouldn't have been that hard. He closed his eyes, but it stung his eyes after being exposed to air for so long.

"I am…Tadashi Hamada… and I come from…San Francisco-"

"San Fransokyo."

"Right. I meant to say that. I have a brother, Hiro and—Oh my goodness!" He sat upright and immediately slid back down like a vegetable.

Naphtha sat him up normally within a flash before he hit the bottom of his cushion. "I told you, don't exert yourself."

"But, but, but, m-my brother! A-and the fire!" Tadashi gasped once more. "Professor Callaghan!"

Naphtha's bright orange eyes flared, but she seemed to calm down at the last second. "Hmph. A professor who doesn't value any sort of human life."

Tadashi turned his head towards her, confusion plastered over his features. "W-wait. You know him? What do you mean he doesn't value human life?"

Naphtha sighed and looked down into her hands. She silently took Tadashi's bandaged hand and stroked it, as if she was scared to lose it.

"He almost killed you and many other people through the fire last week."

"Hold on. Last week?!" Tadashi felt pain; emotional and physical. His migraine was getting stronger.

"Yes. You were unconscious for seven days."

"What?!" More pain, but at this point, he didn't care anymore.

"Yes."

He put his fingers to his temples and rubbed them tiredly. "Best professor killing me…unconscious for a week… what about my family and friends?"

"Oh, they won't be okay. Emotionally, at least. Your brother has fallen into deep depression, but your aunt and friends will be alright."

"Oh…" he sighed wistfully. "Oh, no. Okay."

"You're saying strange things," Naphtha pointed out.

Tadashi's brown orbs looked through Naphtha's fiery ones. "Is that bad?"

She smiled softly. "No. Four billion years and you'd think I've seen worse."

Tadashi laughed, but it turned into coughing not long after he started. "I'm sorry, what?" he said once he calmed down.

"I'm four billion years old. Maybe more. I sort of lost count." Naphtha trailed off, as if thinking about how many birthdays she really commemorated. "Yeah, I lost count. But that doesn't matter right now."

Tadashi simply stared at the young looking spirit, thinking she probably went insane. On second thought, maybe he was just insane and she was just making a joke. But as far as he could see, Naphtha's expression deemed pretty serious.

"Are you joking?" he asked cautiously, expecting to get laughed at.

"No."

Tadashi raised a thick eyebrow. By this point, he was wondering whether she was really human or not. The way she spoke about humans…as if she wasn't. The look in her eyes always bore into his own, added that her eyes were the color of fire.

The very aura around Naphtha was almost heavenly, like an angel's glow. Even her name, Naphtha, sounded very much like an element in fire transliterated into Ancient Greek.

Tadashi pursed his chapped lips. "You might think I'm crazy for asking you this, but humor me."

Naphtha shrugged.

"Are you human?"

"No. I used to be."

"How long ago?"

"It's…complicated."

"How so? I can understand."

Naphtha looked at him skeptically, which told him he was wrong. "I was human over 10,000 years ago and I somehow traveled back in time to the beginning of all beginnings: when Earth was nothing but lava and volcanoes." she recounted.

He thought about this. "So, what are you exactly?"

"Who, not what." Naphtha corrected. "I am a spirit, queen of fire, also known as the Magma Queen."

Tadashi furrowed his eyebrows in thought. "You're the oldest spirit alive, then?"

"Yes."

He rubbed his temples, even though his pain had subsided. "This is a lot to take in."

"Exactly why you need to rest." Naphtha smiled, showing off a straight array of white teeth. "I'll check on you in the morning."

Before he could protest, she reached out and touched his forehead. At her touch, Tadashi instantly shut his eyes and succumbed into the most peaceful sleep he ever had.


	3. Chapter Two: The Chamber of Rocks

Tadashi mumbled in his sleep before cracking his eyes open. He lay on his side rather than on his back, his hands tucked safely under the cushion his head rested on.

Before he even took another breath, he realized he was shirtless. Tadashi's eyebrows shot up as he lifted the lava comforter up and peeked down at his body.

His torso was wrapped in a thin but tight brace, which meant his spine was probably weak. Thankfully, he had boxers and pants on, but they felt different than cotton.

 _I'm wearing spiritual sweatpants_ , Tadashi thought. He silently laughed, but winced, realizing that his ribs were still fractured. He looked around and took in his surroundings.

The room changed from the night before. The gossamer curtains which made up his canopy bed were braided into different colors to reflect pouring lava. The room looked like a giant ancient hotel room with a balcony supported by pillars.

Fire flowers sprouted from different points of the room. A mini lavafall flowed from the ceiling over to the right and spread throughout the rest of the room.

Even though the room was filled with boiling hot substances whose very presence should've burned Tadashi, the room was invitingly warm with the same occasional cool breeze, like mid-spring.

He heard a sudden whooshing sound to his left. Naphtha stood there with her fiery hair pulled into a high ponytail except that one black curl hanging free. This time, she wore a short sleeveless red (Tadashi's favorite color) dress with a ripped hem. Brown strapped bandaged around her forearms.

She smiled brightly at Tadashi. "Good morning."

"Oh, uh, good morning." Tadashi tried to smile, but probably looked like he was constipated.

Naphtha didn't seem to notice his pained smile. "Come, I have food for you."

"But..." Tadashi turned onto his back. "Am I strong enough?"

Naphtha chuckled. "You tell me."

She was right. He did feel a little better now, minus the fractured ribs, bandaged torso and burned forearms. He sat up and didn't slide down.

"Well?" she inquired, a smile still plastered on her face. The early morning rays shone around her form, illuminating her as an angel.

"I feel good." Tadashi shrugged.

Naphtha walked over to his canopy and snapped her fingers. The lava comforter disappeared and Tadashi's long body was revealed.

He swung his legs over the side of the bed and latched onto Naphtha's outstretched hands. She pulled him up, but his legs decided to turn into jelly at the moment and Tadashi slid like a rag doll.

She caught him before he even bent his knees. Naphtha supported him by swinging his left arm over her shoulder and grasping onto his waist. He put his hand on hers and they walked, no, teleported to a different place.

Tadashi saw himself in front of a massive garden with petunias and roses and daffodils, none filled with chlorophyll, but with lava and fiery anthers.

The Sun was shining brightly, but her glare didn't seem to affect Tadashi. He took small steps with his jelly-like legs with Naphtha steering him to whatever direction she was taking them to.

They arrived at a large field, similar to a savannah, where the trees outstretched across the plains, with electricity pulsing through the branches. The grass itself was not dry, but was inflamed with soft purple heat sweeping with the wind.

When he looked up, Tadashi saw a more than a million stars in the sky in the daylight. Strangest thing he had ever seen, but was glad he saw something so beautiful.

Well, maybe that wasn't all that true. He turned his head to glance at Naphtha, who was occasionally glancing at Tadashi's feet to see if he could stabilize himself just yet.

Her beautiful bright orange eyes pulsed with energy and her flame reflecting hair moved and swayed, even though it was pulled back into a ponytail. Her dress was fitting to her slim and perfect body, not to mention she was wearing his favorite color.

And then there was that big black curl.

He burned to ask a million questions about it to his current caretaker. Why was it different from her natural colored hair? How did she get it? Why did she get it? The story behind it? Why couldn't she remove it so her hair looked a bit more normal?

Yet, with all these questions, Tadashi just couldn't bring himself to ask her. Something about that loose curl...the way it separated itself from the other locks of hair. It deemed danger, a mysterious past, a curse.

 _But last night, it was also pinned up in her bun_ , a part of him said.

 _Yes, but it was very loose around the bun, not tied with it_ , another part of him said.

"We're here," Naphtha's soft voice cut through his thoughts like butter.

She sat him down as he shook his head. "Oh, so, what is this place?"

She sat down beside him. "Haven't you already guessed?"

Tadashi looked around once more before facing her. "This is your property?" he guessed.

Naphtha threw her head back and laughed. Such a beautiful sound that sounded like it was changing every moment to different forms of laughter.

"Well, not exactly." Naphtha giggled as she calmed down. "It's different places of the world in my image."

It took him a minute to click. "We're in Africa!" he exclaimed.

Naphtha chuckled. "Well, yes. In Morocco to be exact. That is in Africa, you know." she teased playfully.

"Oh ha ha," Tadashi replied in a monotone. A night and morning was all it took to become Naphtha's friend in a flash.

Suddenly, Tadashi realized he was hungry from a friendly reminder from his stomach. "I don't mean to be rude, but where's the food?"

Naphtha smiled as if she awaited this question. She waved her hand and a big plate of cooked rice with chopped meat and diced onions appeared before them. Small wisps of steam curled up from the platter into the air and Tadashi inhaled the smell.

"Mm. What is this dish?" he said a bit dreamily.

Naphtha smiled slightly as she took a bit of the rice into her fingers and blew it to cool off. How she was able to do this when she was a spirit of heat, Tadashi had no idea.

"In Uzbekistan, it's called _plov_." She held up the food in her fingers to Tadashi's lips and he opened his mouth and sucked the food off of her fingers.

This gesture wasn't strange or disgusting to Tadashi because he remembered his mother feeding him this way when he was young and followed the ancient Japanese-Indian tradition of eating off of someone's fingers.

It was a bit hot, but that's what made it delicious. He chewed the meat and grinded the rice slowly to savor the moment, but as soon as he swallowed his stomach yearned for more.

"It's amazing," he complimented. "Can I have more?"

She continued to feed him and he ate in silence, humming with pleasure every once in a while. Naphtha seemed to search into his deepest memories and replay them by acting them out while healing him.

"Can I ever see my family and friends ever again?" he asked suddenly. It wasn't random; it had been on his mind ever since he woke up from his unconsciousness.

Naphtha looked up from her fingers that clutched food, still steaming wisps. Her eyes looked a bit sad and the fire in them seemed to extinguish a bit.

She sighed. "Not for at least a year. You were burned pretty badly and I must heal you since the cause of your burns is my element."

"Then heal me right now, if you can." He replied.

Naphtha shook her head. "I can't. Any fire that was caused with evil intentions is not in my range of power, spiritually wise. I must heal you emotionally as well."

Tadashi frowned. "What do you mean, 'emotionally'?"

This time, Naphtha frowned and looked unimpressed. "Oh, you have a lot of things to recover from than just burns, sweetheart. You need lessons on life and serious educating."

"I almost graduated college. What more do I need to learn?"

"There is no such thing as being done with learning. You are always learning something, regardless if you are being educated by someone else or yourself." Naphtha replied wisely.

That was true. She was so darn smart; it was hard to disagree with her. What can you say? It definitely sounded like something a four-billion-year old spirit would say, despite the fact that she wasn't Yoda.

He huffed. "Fine, what do I have learn?"

Naphtha lifted her fingers that contained the warm food, heated by her own body heat that emitted from her. "Eat, and then we go to that."

Soon, the platter that was once full of _plov_ , was now empty with a few kernels of rice stuck to the plate in small clumps. Naphtha stood up and walked over to a river of lava that wasn't there before and washed her hands.

Tadashi watched her form as she finished and walked back to him with a cupful of boiling lava in her palms. Tadashi backed away a little, knowing very well what the substance could do to him, worse than fire.

Naphtha held his wrist and poured the liquid over his hands. Tadashi winced, but he felt no pain, just relaxing warmth. The lava dripped over both of their fingers on the purple flames they sat over and disappeared.

She then took her hands and rubbed his mouth with her supposedly wet hands. He made a few sounds that sounded like protesting, but after she removed her hands from his face, his mouth was clean and dry.

Naphtha smirked and flicked a few droplets on the soft purple flames. "How do you feel?"

"Mm, better." Tadashi said. "Thank you for the food."

She gave him a toothy smile and held her hands out for him to grab onto. He gratefully grabbed on and she pulled him up in the same position they started the morning off with. This time, he felt stronger and walked with stronger legs than before.

They appeared back at the Chamber of Rocks, but in a throne room this time. Never in his entire life had Tadashi seen something so regal and beautiful.

Lavafalls were everywhere and bigger with streaks of orange pouring down the walls. Purple and blue flames were lit onto giant torches that lit up the hall with gold embroidered around the rim. The ceiling was covered with a thousand suns from around the Galaxy and many constellations. The floor was littered with stars that shined brighter than a hundred diamonds.

While walking down the giant hall, Tadashi heard singing from all around him. Three Muses were appearing and disappearing and played different instruments every time. Beautiful nymphs from lost mythology were tending to the fire flowers and dancing around the walking couple with sparks following their every move.

In the center, was a massive throne with magma pouring down the armrests and spikes of dancing flames jutting out of the entire form. Shooting stars were frozen into the cushion of the seat and the bottom of the throne was heated magma pouring down the steps, cooling into black hard magma with ash designs around the red sparks, ready to erupt at the Queen's command.

As Naphtha walking arm in arm with Tadashi, the nymphs and servants bowed their heads as she passed and continued with their doings. As she walked up her throne, the chair suddenly shifted to a giant cushion couch for the couple to sit on.

She plopped Tadashi on the couch and sat down next to him, swinging her arm over the backbone. The design was still the same, just in the form of a lounging couch.

First thing that came out of Tadashi's mouth? "Whoa."

Naphtha laughed. "Yes, it's quite beautiful, isn't it?"

"It's amazing!" he exclaimed in wonder. "You're full of surprises, aren't you?"

Naphtha smiled cheekily. A small Armenian styled tiara had formed on her hairline at that moment, which signaled Tadashi that she wasn't simply a queen by title. Something about her past life meant she was born royal forever.

"Should I call you 'Your Majesty'?" Tadashi asked hesitantly.

The queen smiled. "Unless you want to. I don't mind. But most people who know me call me so on instinct."

"Who knows you?"

"Humans who have mentioned me by name, scholars, and all of the spirits, of course, though some rebel every once in a while."

"Wait, you a queen of spirits, too?" he asked confused.

"Yes, I am the prime example of what the base of a moral soul should look like, be like, act like, and so forth." Naphtha said in a matter-of-fact tone.

"You seem like a busy person." Tadashi said impressed.

Naphtha shrugged. "If you say so. I don't concentrate on one specific thing. Whatever comes, I accept it as a challenge, no matter how long it takes."

"Isn't it frustrating, though?" Tadashi was speaking on behalf of all stressed people at the moment.

"I do have forever, you know." Naphtha reminded him. "But that's not a reason to put off challenges. I last only as long as I have the will to."

He thought about this for a minute. Naphtha could simply end her existence whenever she wanted to.

"You mean you don't depend on a source to keep you alive?" he asked.

"No. Those are the other spirits and the humans." Naphtha stated as if she had talked this through with someone before him. "The Guardians, for example, are a group of five children-dependent spirits consisting of Santa Claus, the Tooth Fairy, the Easter Bunny, the Sandman, and Jack Frost."

This seemed familiar to Tadashi and brought back old faded memories from when he used to play with Jack in the rare snow days of San Fransokyo.

"What do you know them by?"

"North, Tooth, Bunny, Sandy, and Jack."

"I…I knew Jack." Tadashi swallowed hard.

Naphtha raised an eyebrow. "Really now?"

"Y-yes," he stuttered. "We played together in the winter when my brother and I were young."

Naphtha's lips curved up a bit before sliding back down. "See, the Guardians depend on the children's belief intensity. Less believers, less strength."

"Why is that?"

"Because they're dependent on something!" Naphtha leaned forward a bit. "Once they take an oath to protect the children with their lives and will, they are bound to the children forever."

She leaned back against the cushion and sighed. "Truly, it's such a vulnerable way to die against your enemies."

"Did you ever have to depend on something?" Tadashi inquired.

"Once." Naphtha's slim fingers grasped onto her gem necklace and rubbed it subconsciously.

"Oh."

Suddenly, Tadashi heard a high-pitched squeal. He turned his head to see the Three Muses he had seen before, kneeling before the couch he lay on with Naphtha.

One Muse was short and looked like a mix of a bunch of Asian races. Her black hair was pulled back in a high bun with a multi-colored lily placed near her ear. Her narrow eyes twinkled with stars and excitement. Her dress wrapped around her small form like a kimono decorated with swirls and patterns from early Japan.

The Muse next to her was a tall Latino woman with caramel colored hair braided down until her ankles. A headpiece adorned her forehead with a small Mexican twist to it. Her large green eyes had smile lines around it as she gazed at Tadashi. The dress she wore was simple, yet elegant and was embroidered with Native American patterns and symbols from the hem up.

The last Muse was a stout big African woman who looked like she was in her forties. Her brown eyes shone with mysteries and seemed to scare Tadashi a bit. Her thick black hair was shaped into an afro and small braids dropped over her round shoulders. Her dress seemed messy, but he assumed that was the style. She wore a glittering sari, wrapping around her wide form like a snake.

Naphtha smiled at her Muses and glanced at Tadashi, whose jaw had dropped in sight of the glorious Muses. "Tadashi Hamada, meet the Three Muses, the ones who haven't died out and recreated themselves in my image."

The queen nodded towards the Asian Muse, who was shifting excitedly. "You can introduce yourselves."

The Asian Muse zipped up to Tadashi and sat down beside him. "Hi! I'm Dai-Tai! I've seen you around San Fransokyo a million times and you are SOOOOOOOOOOOO smart! I just can't even! Hiro is amazingly brilliant and you are absolutely clever to bring him to the San Fransokyo Institute of Technology to apply there! WOW!"

Tadashi blinked, not hearing a word she just said. "Uh-buh-what?"

Naphtha laughed, but the Latino Muse stepped up calmly and chuckled. "Dai-Tai, give the boy a chance to actually understand what your rambling was all about."

Dai-Tai smiled cheekily at Tadashi. "Hee hee, sorry."

"Sure."

The Latino Muse smiled. "I am Ragnara, the Muse of Melody. It is very nice to meet you, young man." She bowed her head and Tadashi sat up and nodded back.

Naphtha looked towards the African Muse. "Ahem."

The African Muse sighed and walked up to Tadashi. "I am Anaya, The Muse of Harmonization." She bowed her head a little stiffly.

She peered at Tadashi. "What is your business about that fire, prodigy?"

"What?" Tadashi looked towards Naphtha, who looked completely calm.

"Don't you know the rules about the Great Flame? How could you possibly ignore such an important thing so blissfully?" Anaya pressed him, hands on her hips, her bracelets dangling.

Dai-Tai looked nervous. "Anaya, he wasn't thinking clearly. He was so swept up in the moment-"

"And what?" Anaya interrupted, her voice level staying calm yet persistent. "He thinks he can get away with it? Mistress sympathizes too much with handsome humans and lets them seduce her with their fake innocence."

Tadashi glanced at Naphtha. He expected her to grow furious at having her Muse talk about her in such a rude manner. However, Naphtha began to chuckle amusingly.

"Oh, Anaya." Naphtha shook her head. "If any seducing goes around here, it's going to be me. I don't seduce men anyways, not unless they are worthy of my treasure."

Tadashi felt a certain feeling at that moment. What is it? Did he suddenly feel like he had to impress Naphtha to let her seduce him?

He shook his head. No, that was ridiculous. He wasn't ready for that yet.

He had no chance with Naphtha. Right?

As Dai-Tai began to speak in rapid Japanese to him, her voice became muffled by his thoughts about Naphtha. She gazed at him and seemed to be reading his thoughts, but that didn't stop his thoughts.

He suddenly realized something. If he were to fall in love with an immortal queen, his whole life was going to be ruined when he would be released. He might never marry another woman should he mention Naphtha during their relationship.

He rubbed his forehead tiredly. He felt weak, but this time mentally.

Who ever warned him of a gorgeous spirit coming to save him and then tempt him with unsaid seduction?

No one. Yet.


	4. Chapter Three: Stargazing with a Queen

Hello, Alaiyo! Sorry doesn't cover what pain I've caused, but here it is: I AM SORRY. School is the Satan in disgiuse, you know that? Also, I hope y'all understand that I'm working with what life throws at me and I've been very sick lately. Thank G-d, I've been better, thanks to all of you who've stayed with me.

Gravity Falls is kinda my new passion, so we'll see where this story goes. Enjoy!

Tadashi eventually learned that the room he stayed at was one of ten rooms of the area called the Infirmary. Apparently, Naphtha had saved heroes every now and then, each one from different situations.

"You're different from anyone I saved," Naphtha had said. "All of them have been. But you...you need help. And not just physical help. Something's wrong with you."

Ouch. That last comment had left Tadashi hanging in his mind constantly. What did that even mean? Was he disabled? He wouldn't know unless he asked, which he never did.

Why? He wasn't sure. Maybe it was the fact that he respected Naphtha so much that he couldn't bring himself to ask such a question.

Sure, once he had been confident, but after meeting Naphtha, things had changed. He couldn't breathe properly, he didn't have the same mindset from before, and worst of all, he didn't even know if he would return to his family!

He needed to know so much and yet, refrained from doing so. It wasn't like Naphtha had left him alone. She was constantly feeding him, doing strange heebie-jeebies stuff on his torso, and sang to him every once in a while.

It was nice, but he just didn't relax.

One day, they were sitting at the base of the Himalayan Mountains, which were neon orange to the evening sun and ice peaks were slowly melting and reforming.

Tadashi's head was resting in Naphtha's warm lap as she played with his hair absent-mindedly. He sighed wistfully. Days like these he walked around (or tried to) with nothing but a brace covering his torso and self-pressed sweatpants.

It did feel awkward at first, since Tadashi had never walked around anywhere shirtless. Aunt Cass and Hiro wouldn't accept it. Sure, maybe when he got married and had a wife, he might loosen up a bit and become lenient.

Naphtha didn't seem to get turned on by the fact that he had a toned body, probably because she had seen better bodies than his over the course of millennia.

Speaking of which, did she ever fall in love with a human, spirit, or something? Was it possible? Did she have DNA, but more complicated than what he knew of?

"What's on your mind, hmm?" Naphtha's soft voice snapped him out of his thoughts.

"Huh?" Tadashi played innocent. "What do you mean?"

"Aw, don't play coy with me." Naphtha sounded unimpressed. "I know what you're thinking of."

"Oh, is that so?"

"Mm." Naphtha slipped her unoccupied hand over his bare shoulder and rubbed it ever so gently. Tadashi tried not to make a sound, but it was difficult since a gorgeous immortal queen was supposedly seducing him now.

"Are-are you seducing me?" his voice cracked.

Naphtha smiled a smile that made him uncomfortable. "I haven't seduced a man in 1000 years, what makes you think I want to start now?"

"No better time to start than the present." Tadashi replied, immediately regretting his smart quote.

She laughed silently and shook her head. Tadashi wondered who she seduced and whether she had succeeded.

He mentally scoffed. Of course she would succeed. No way a man can resist the temptation of such a…a… a glorious woman who has everything!

"Who did you seduce?" he found himself asking.

Naphtha tilted her head in thought. "You would laugh if I told you."

"Who is it? Confucius?" Tadashi teased, even though he knew it was historically incorrect.

She threw her head back in a cackle. "What do you mean? He was pretty hot, if you ask me."

He stuck his tongue out and gagged. "Ugh, I was kidding, you know."

"I know, I know," she cooed and continued to run her hands through his hair. "It was Jack Frost—"

"WHAT?!" Tadashi stood up so fast, he nearly collided heads with Naphtha.

She gently pushed him back down, but his sockets were popping his eyes out and his mouth hung loosely. He was shocked beyond shocked.

"Calm down, I didn't even finish." Naphtha hushed him. "In his past life when we were romantically involved."

"You mean, you guys had—"

"No." Naphtha said firmly. "I never had intercourse with anyone, so no need to worry. And by seducing, I mean flirting, as you teenagers say these days."

Tadashi released a breath of relief. Then, a thought popped into his head. "Huh. Four billion years and still a virgin? That's a bit much, don't you think? What are you waiting for?"

Naphtha looked down at him. "Who are _you_ waiting for? At your age, guys would've at least gotten a few girls pregnant by now."

"Well, I'm not a promiscuous boy." Tadashi said proudly.

"What do you think it's like to have intercourse?" Naphtha asked.

"Um, have you ever walked in on one?"

She snorted. "More than I can count."

"You mean you stalk humans?"

"No. I pretend to be one sometimes and it happens."

"Hmm. Seems to 'happen' a lot by you."

"You try living normally with everything on your mind for more than seven millennia and then we'll talk."


	5. Chapter Four: Insanity from Scars

Tadashi's going insane, just like Hamlet. I should stop reading Shakespeare, sorry school's growing on me TnT

He often spoke to Dai-Tai, who was understand and sisterly when she wasn't fangirling over him. His legs felt stronger than before, but migraines kept popping up every once in a while. His ribs felt like a puzzle gone wrong and his burns on his back had just started to alert him that it had come to be painful.

"Fifth-degree burns," Naphtha had said while checking his back for any injuries. "You got 'em real bad."

Tadashi looked back, his brown orbs wide. "How bad?"

Naphtha concentrated on his scars that had penetrated his shoulder blade and ran her slim fingers over it gently. "Very bad. It'll take at least a month to heal."

Tadashi sat quietly, his back hunched over a bit. Naphtha sensed his sadness and gently patted his non-burned shoulder blade. "You'll be okay. I promise."

Those words sounded very familiar to him; in fact, it sounded like something he would say to Hiro when his little brother was stressed.

Suddenly, he remembered something: "Will I see my family again and when?"

Naphtha didn't answer. She didn't answer for a long time. Tadashi turned around in his position and faced the immortal queen. Her face hung lightly with her red hair covering her face.

"Naphtha?" Tadashi asked cautiously.

She finally lifted her head and looked at him. She smiled sadly and stroked his face with her knuckles. He was still waiting for an answer, but decided to wait a little longer.

But the answer he got was one that disappointed him imensely. "Soon. Yet, this decision depends on you entirely. I will soon give an option, but you are not ready yet. You have a few lessons yet to learn before I prepare you."

Tadashi's confused expression said it all. Before he could ask any questions or even say 'huh?', Naphtha silenced him. "I know you don't understand my words yet. Time will tell and you will instantly realize. For now, Father Time must linger in our atmosphere and therefore we must wait."

This confused him even more, but he kept his mouth shut. He was far too tired to ask any questions. He curled up into Naphtha's calloused hands as she attempted to heal his burns.

"How did I even get burns when I was wearing a few layers of clothing?" He asked.

"Hmm," Naphtha pondered. "Must have penetrated. Remember, this is not a natural fire we're talking about here. It was used to harm and for personal gain."

Tadashi couldn't believe it. His professor was still alive, but according to Naphtha, evil. Professor Callaghan was like a father to him, since his own was no longer alive.

Once again, he wondered when he would reunite with his family again. He never knew he could miss them this much, but this situation was different because they thought he was dead.

He felt so dead inside, but alive on the outside. Naphtha made the atmosphere better and reassuring, but once she was gone, he no longer felt like having the will to breathe.

"Alright," Naphtha rose from the bed grabbed a silk garment from the lava sheets and it formed into an open chested cardigan.

Just like the ones he used to wear.

She slipped it around his shoulders and he worked his way throught the sleeves slowly. The lukewarm feeling of the magical lava on his back soothed his burns and Tadashi sighed deeply.

Naphtha smiled slightly. "I must go to the world now. Anaya will take care of you well."

"No!" Tadashi exclaimed. Naphtha raised a questioning brow.

"It's just that- Anaya hates me, I'm sure of it." Tadashi pleaded.

Naphtha stayed silent for a moment before speaking. "She was raised in a strict culture and that's how she turned out to be, which is not a bad thing. Don't worry, she will treat you kindly."

He sighed, relenting. A moment later, the African Muse was by his side, bowing to her mistress before Naphtha disappeared.

Tadashi hesitantly turned towards Anaya, expecting for her to scowl at him. Instead, she smiled softly and asked about his well-being.

He replied that all was well for the moment and no pain was inflaring.

She nodded. "Understand that Mistress is doing the very best she can to help you. She is not keeping you for her own purposes. She understands human nature and will try to keep the balance of nature equal. Do you understand?"

Tadashi bobbed his head slightly and relaxed his features.

Anaya stood up. "Come walk with me. I have something that I must discuss with you so that you understand the nature of our ways."

She helped Tadashi get up, putting a hand behind his back and grasping his wrist with another. They walked together out of the room and into the flowing chamber of dining.

"Who's ways of what?" Tadashi asked.

Anaya smiled at him and her starlike eyes twinkled brightly. "The immortals' way of life."


	6. Chapter Five: The PCT for Hiro

And now, I give a most depressed Hiro! *no one claps*

*cough* Carry on!

Two months had passed since the assumed death of the college attendees, one being a professor and one being a highly educated student. Families and friends mourned for their loss and for a few weeks, an air of depression hung around the city in devastation.

Slowly, life went back to normal for San Fransokyo and people remembered the event as a memorial.

But not for Hiro Hamada.

Things got hard after the accident. He was so used to another presence, he often asked questions to the empty room and often called for his brother, only after remembering that he was gone forever.

Eventually, Hiro got tired of sobbing himself to sleep every night. Friends and Aunt Cass tried to comfort him as best as they could, but to no avail.

The young prodigy didn't go outside for months and cooped himself inside what used to be his safe haven. Depression almost became his middle name. His appearance became sickly and eyebags became a part of his features.

Finally, Aunt Cass had had enough of a gloomy mood moping around her apartment. She walked up the flight of stairs to her nephew's bedroom.

She found him lounging on his red beanbag, staring sadly into the floor.

"Hiro?" She called softly. Hiro glanced slightly at her direction, not moving his body.

"Put your coat on, dear, we're leaving." she tried.

"I don't want to go anywhere now," Hiro whispered. "Thanks."

Cass sighed and walked over to sit on his bed. "Sweetie, hear me out. I have this one place where people have more devastating situations than you and they go to that place for comfort. They come out feeling relaxed. You'll like it, I pro-"

"Where is this place?"

"Psycologist Center for Teens," she answered. "Or PCT for short."

She waited to see something on his face. He furrowed his eyebrows a bit, thinking. He finally sighed deeply, got up slowly, and mumbled an 'okay'.

Cass smiled and put arms around her nephew's shoulders. Hiro hugged her back loosely. She was the first person he had touched in weeks.

On the drive there, Hiro looked out the window sadly. He was sure the therapists at the center wouldn't be able to even move him if they tried their hardest.

They entered a nice looking building about 7 stories tall with tinted windows and an air-conditioned lobby. Hiro didn't want to look impressed, but he was a bit excited to meet their best therapist and put them to the test.

They came up to the wide lobby where three secretaries were hard at work, but all doing different tasks. One was speaking softly to a client on a phone, another was typing away and often glancing at her paperwork, and the middle one was signing some papers.

Cass came up to the middle one, who had a long caramel braid and a long face. The secretary looked up and smiled kindly. She had soft green eyes and her Latino features relaxed and calm.

"Good afternoon, how may I help you today?" the secretary asked and stood up to shake Cass's hand. She didn't shake Hiro's hand and that's what he wanted. No touching, no attention.

Cass smiled weakly. "Hi, I have an appointment with Dr. Mafari at 2:30?"

The woman's eyebrows shot up in recognition and smiled widely at Hiro, finally acknowledging him. "You're going to love her. I promise." She winked, turning back to Cass.

"Yes, I just need you to sign this warrant about him. Is this Tadashi Hamada?" she asked, grabbing a stapled packet from a red folder with the label that read 'URGENT'.

Hiro's heart nearly skipped a beat. He hadn't heard someone foreign speak the name in over two months. His expression must've shown the woman she was wrong because she chuckled and said, "Teasing."

Believe it or not, Hiro had the temptation to smile at her joke. But he restrained himself, remembering his test to this place. He put on a solemn expression as Cass signed away.

The secretary's name tag read 'Regnara'. How do you even say that? Is the 'g' silent? Hiro shrugged and let it off as 'what the heck'.

The secretary to her right, the one typing away, paused and turned to smile at Hiro. She had a Japanese-er, Asian look to her eyes and she even looked excited to see him. Her name tag read 'DT'. Weird.

"Done." Cass announced. She rustled the papers she was handed and slid them into the folder. Shutting it with a pat, she slid it to Regnara, who snatched it up and smiled at the folder, like it was something she wanted for Christmas.

"Dr. Mafari will be with you in a few minutes."


	7. Chapter Six: He's Still Alive

Two months had passed since the assumed death of the college attendees, one being a professor and one being a highly educated student. Families and friends mourned for their loss and for a few weeks, an air of depression hung around the city in devastation.

Slowly, life went back to normal for San Fransokyo and people remembered the event as a memorial.

But not for Hiro Hamada.

Things got hard after the accident. He was so used to another presence, he often asked questions to the empty room and often called for his brother, only after remembering that he was gone forever.

Eventually, Hiro got tired of sobbing himself to sleep every night. Friends and Aunt Cass tried to comfort him as best as they could, but to no avail.

The young prodigy didn't go outside for months and cooped himself inside what used to be his safe haven. Depression almost became his middle name. His appearance became sickly and eyebags became a part of his features.

Finally, Aunt Cass had had enough of a gloomy mood moping around her apartment. She walked up the flight of stairs to her nephew's bedroom.

She found him lounging on his red beanbag, staring sadly into the floor.

"Hiro?" She called softly. Hiro glanced slightly at her direction, not moving his body.

"Put your coat on, dear, we're leaving." she tried.

"I don't want to go anywhere now," Hiro whispered. "Thanks."

Cass sighed and walked over to sit on his bed. "Sweetie, hear me out. I have this one place where people have more devastating situations than you and they go to that place for comfort. They come out feeling relaxed. You'll like it, I pro-"

"Where is this place?"

"Psycologist Center for Teens," she answered. "Or PCT for short."

She waited to see something on his face. He furrowed his eyebrows a bit, thinking. He finally sighed deeply, got up slowly, and mumbled an 'okay'.

Cass smiled and put arms around her nephew's shoulders. Hiro hugged her back loosely. She was the first person he had touched in weeks.

On the drive there, Hiro looked out the window sadly. He was sure the therapists at the center wouldn't be able to even move him if they tried their hardest.

They entered a nice looking building about 7 stories tall with tinted windows and an air-conditioned lobby. Hiro didn't want to look impressed, but he was a bit excited to meet their best therapist and put them to the test.

They came up to the wide lobby where three secretaries were hard at work, but all doing different tasks. One was speaking softly to a client on a phone, another was typing away and often glancing at her paperwork, and the middle one was signing some papers.

Cass came up to the middle one, who had a long caramel braid and a long face. The secretary looked up and smiled kindly. She had soft green eyes and her Latino features relaxed and calm.

"Good afternoon, how may I help you today?" the secretary asked and stood up to shake Cass's hand. She didn't shake Hiro's hand and that's what he wanted. No touching, no attention.

Cass smiled weakly. "Hi, I have an appointment with Dr. Mafari at 2:30?"

The woman's eyebrows shot up in recognition and smiled widely at Hiro, finally acknowledging him. "You're going to love her. I promise." She winked, turning back to Cass.

"Yes, I just need you to sign this warrant about him. Is this Tadashi Hamada?" she asked, grabbing a stapled packet from a red folder with the label that read 'URGENT'.

Hiro's heart nearly skipped a beat. He hadn't heard someone foreign speak the name in over two months. His expression must've shown the woman she was wrong because she chuckled and said, "Teasing."

Believe it or not, Hiro had the temptation to smile at her joke. But he restrained himself, remembering his test to this place. He put on a solemn expression as Cass signed away.

The secretary's name tag read 'Regnara'. How do you even say that? Is the 'g' silent? Hiro shrugged and let it off as 'what the heck'.

The secretary to her right, the one typing away, paused and turned to smile at Hiro. She had a Japanese-er, Asian look to her eyes and she even looked excited to see him. Her name tag read 'DT'. Weird.

"Done." Cass announced. She rustled the papers she was handed and slid them into the folder. Shutting it with a pat, she slid it to Regnara, who snatched it up and smiled at the folder, like it was something she wanted for Christmas.

"Dr. Mafari will be with you in a few minutes."

Hiro must've waited for only about two minutes or so, but to him, it felt like time was dragging out. He exhaled impatiently, already fidgeting with his zipper to the jacket.

Finally, the sound of a door opened and Hiro looked up to see a red-headed woman with bright gray eyes walking gracefully towards them. Her glasses hid her smiling expression, but as soon as she saw Hiro's sad face, her expression slowly looked smug, as if she had something giant planned for him.

She extended her tan hand to Hiro. "Nice to meet you, Mr. Hamada." The woman's emotions seemed to take all the sadness away from Hiro, but he kept a stoic face.

"Hi." He mumbled and glanced at her name tag. 'Dr. U.V. Mafari' it read. Hmm.

Then, she turned to Cass and shook her hand as well. "How you fine people doing today?"

Cass smiled weakly. "We'll hopefully be alright. I was just dropping my nephew off for a quick visit, since, y'know...you've helped _me_ before with Maemi-"

Hiro's eyes widened. _His mother_? Cass needed help with his mother's death as well?

Dr. Mafari nodded. "Yes, we spent quite amount of time on that, didn't we?"

Cass bobbed her head slightly, then nudged Hiro forward a bit. "Go on. I'll be back in a few. Grocery shopping and stuff."

Hiro looked at Cass, then back at the doctor. They hugged quickly and Cass walked out the automated sliding door. Dr. Mafari smiled at her secretaries as they glanced happily back at her.

Hiro looked up at the woman awkwardly. "So...where are we going now?"

Dr. Mafari raised her eyebrow at him. "What do you want do to, Hiro?"

Hiro stood there, not knowing what to answer. He wasn't sure if there was a right or wrong answer to her question. Was it rhetorical?

"I suppose you're gonna talk to me or something?" Hiro guessed. He stuffed his hands in his pockets. "Like not to be depressed and stuff..."

Hiro looked down, waiting for a response, but didn't get it. He looked up to see Dr. Mafari smiling down at him very mysteriously.

Then, she shrugged out of her strange stare. "Alright, if talking's what you want, then so be it. But I think I have something else you're gonna want to hear and it has something to do with your brother."

At those words, she began walking towards a brass elevator and pressed the 'up' button. Hiro began walking after her quickly, suddenly wanting to hear what she had to say about Tadashi.

The elevator dinged and they both walked inside. Dr. Mafari pressed the seventh floor and the elevator escalated a little too swiftly, making Hiro's stomach fly.

Nothing was said in the elevator ride and silence ensued except for the soft saxophone music playing over their heads. They arrived at their destination quickly and Dr. Mafari swiftly walked out, her hands laced gently behind her back.

The boy followed cautiously, as if she were to spring a trap of some kind for him. But nothing of the sort happened and Dr. Mafari sat down in a humble brown chair behind a golden embroidered desk.

She motioned for Hiro to do the same in front of her. He did so, drinking in his surroundings before doing so. The office was a loft with windows as walls, showing off a decent view of San Fransokyo mid-spring.

When he sat down, he suddenly noticed that the room was very warm. Not hot; warm. He slipped off his jacket til his elbows and let the sleeve dangle at the edge of his hands.

Dr. Mafari sat back comfortably. "Well?"

Hiro looked up. "Well what?" He almost bit his tongue for such a fresh response.

Dr. Mafari laughed lightly. It was enjoyable to hear and a bit contagious, if Hiro was honest. "Do you want to hear what you need to hear, or what you think you need to hear?"

The prodigy was lost. "Come again?"

Dr. Mafari leaned forward. "Do you want to hear about what you want to hear?"

"Meaning?"

Dr. Mafari's eyes blazed. "Your brother."

Hiro stared at her, then sighed and looked down. "Don't bother. He's dead. He died in a fi-"

"He's still alive."

Hiro looked up a bit bored. He's heard people around him say that. Tadashi is alive when you remember him and keep him alive inside of you. But then again, the look on Dr. Mafari's face was dead serious, very different from what she looked like moments ago.

"How do you know?" Hiro asked sadly. "That's impossible."

Dr. Mafari gazed at him. "I believe not. I know he's alive because I've seen him recently."

"How recent?"

"Yesterday."

Hiro mused over this. "Maybe you saw someone else that resembled him or something..."

Dr. Mafari laced her fingers together, sliding them in and out with ease. "Tell me, Hiro, you're his closest anything. How many people do you know resemble your brother?"

It was true. Hardly anyone looked like Tadashi, he was unique. True, he was Japanese-American, but he had a look that no one else in the world had other than him. It was look of determination, care, love, and obligation.

It was a look of Tadashi Hamada.

Hiro smiled a bit at the memory. Dr. Mafari saw his smile and reflected it with a cute smile of her own. "Y'see, you admit it yourself. He's alive, so why mope around for no reason?"

Suddenly, Hiro's expression grew dark. "No reason? _No reason_? You're telling me that my brother's death is supposed to be meaningless to me and that I should skip around, throwing flower petals over his grave?!" His voice wavered at the end of his sentence and he sat back into the cushion of his chair, exhausted.

Dr. Mafari gazed him over gently. "No. I simply want you to have the knowledge that in the back of your mind, in the deepest corners of your subconscious, you should just know and realize that Tadashi hasn't died. He's breathing just as well as you and I."

Hiro looked at her from under his dark eyebrows. "Oh yeah? Where's the proof?"

Dr. Mafari looked down a bit. She stayed silent for a little while as Hiro taunted her with his glare. She stood, her red hair waving around her round shoulders and she walked towards one of her giant file cabinet drawers.

She opened it and pulled out a file that was lit on fire. Hiro jumped up a bit and his brown orbs widened. "That file is on fire, Dr. Mafari!"

Dr. Mafari chuckled. "It sure is, Mr. Hamada. It sure is."

Hiro waited for the doctor to smugly put out the fire with a glass of water or something, like all she wanted to show him was a cool magic trick. But she did nothing of the sort and let the file continue to stand ablaze.

"Uh, aren't you going to put it out?" Hiro asked a little stupidly. Dr. Mafari smiled and shook her head. She back down in her chair, still holding the burning file. No, it wasn't becoming destroyed; just lit. Nice.

"See this file, Hiro?" She asked the boy. The question almost seemed obvious to ask, but he nodded. Dr. Mafari pointed to the center of the file, her thin fingers going through the flames. "I meant this."

Hiro looked closer. His eyes widened. The title the doctor was pointing to was spelled out 'Tadashi Hamada's Soul'. Hiro turned to the doctor. "Wh- I don't understand what that's supposed to mean."

Dr. Mafari glimpsed at him over her glasses. "Why not?"

Hiro almost rolled his eyes. He was getting tired and anxious of this woman's mysteriousness. She should just tell him already! But, no. He had learned in a crash course of psychology that people often want you to use your brains instead of feeding you information you already know. That ruins your brain cells and nerve system.

He took a deep breath. "Because…what does that file represent?"

Dr. Mafari glanced a bit sarcastically at the folder and stared for a while. "Hmm. Let's see. 'Tadashi Hamada's Soul'. I wonder what it contains."

"That's his life existence?"

An encouraging nod from Dr. Mafari had Hiro double-taking. She wasn't serious was she? If Tadashi was still alive somehow, by some miracle, where was he?

"Okay," Hiro replied slowly. "Say you're right and that is his soul or whatever. Where is he then?"

"At this moment?" Dr. Mafari looked up in thought, settling the folder on the table, the flames going on. "At my place, I suppose."

"Your place?"

"Yes," Dr. Mafari said casually. "But he could possibly be somewhere else, depending where Anaya took him."

"Anaya?"

"Yes."

"The secretary at the desk?" Hiro asked doubtfully. The doctor's smile confirmed his question. She began to laugh. "My, do you ask a lot of questions or what!"

Hiro's felt a bit warmer. For some strange reason, he had just noticed that Dr. Mafari was very attractive. Her laugh, her features, words. Why did he feel that way? She looked like she was twenty or so!

Dr. Mafari noted Hiro's silence. But this wasn't shame; it was bashfulness. She leaned in. "Are you alright?"

"Hmm?" Hiro jumped up a bit, his face growing redder. "Yeah! Yeah, I'm fine, just, uh, hot." Maybe if he crossed his legs together…

"Oh, well I'll just turn up the cooler." Dr. Mafari stood up to adjust the temperature. "I apologize, I really adore the heat for some reason.

Man, her body, too? How slim and beautiful can a woman get? Dr. Mafari's hips swayed back a forth as she walked to a wall and settled her weight onto one hipbone. Hiro forced himself to look away. This was not the time to hit on hot therapists, as fun as it was.

Dr. Mafari smiled a little when she felt Hiro's eyes on her, but sensed his stare leave her a bit later. Her back to Hiro, she knew he had finally found her attractive. This would enable him to listen to her better.

Tactics of a therapist go beyond the comprehension of any genius, even that of Hiro's.

Oooooh Hiro love da bootay oh and sorry for the lateness. As you can see, it's long. Oh, and did i mention that last Monday was my birthday? January 18th? No? Okay then back to the corner I go :'(


End file.
